The firm said it would be partnering with Amazon and Electrify America on expanding its electric car charging options
Shares of Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) are inching higher today, following the firm's announcement that it is teaming up with Amazon's (AMZN) Home Services to install home charging options for its electric cars. The company also unveiled a new public charging network in collaboration with Electrify America -- the network is slated to be the largest in North America. The stock is up 0.8% at $9.13.
A price-target cut from Evercore ISI to $8 from $9 could be paring some of these gains this morning though. Regardless, the consensus 12-month target price of $10.51 is still at a nearly 16% premium to last night's closing perch of $9.07, and represents a region Ford hasn't touched since it's yearly highs in mid-July. On the other hand, analysts' sentiment has been mostly bearish, with six "hold" or worse ratings, compared to four "buy" or better ratings on the table.
Options players have been much more bullish, though, with over four calls purchased for every put on the the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). What's more, this ratio sits higher than all but 2% of readings from this past year, indicating that this recent preference for calls over puts is unusual.
F bottomed out at a five-month low of $8.44 earlier this month-- pressured lower by its 120- and 100-day moving averages -- yet the stock has managed to keep its head above the year-to-date breakeven with an almost 19% gain. Now, the security is testing support atop its 50-day moving average -- a trendline it hasn't closed north of since a late-July bear gap.